El Moudjahid, means “holy warrior” in Algeria. The name is fitting considering that the people used the El Moudjahid newspaper to fight against colonizers and their false narratives.
The newspaper remains in publication today, but in the mid 1900s, the newspaper served more as a way to empower resistance fighters against French invaders.
In its first editorial release in 1956, the newspaper started with: “It is about time that an organ of resistance fighters comes to be, to fill a certain void in order to make known to the Algerian people in struggle, and to a world polarized by the war in Algeria, the voice of our fighters. ‘El Moudjahid,’ added to ‘Résistance Algérienne,’ will be the official voice of the FLN (National Liberian Front).”
The editorial staff had to publish the paper in secret because French paramilitary troops tortured and killed staff members. But freedom fighters wouldn’t let the newspaper die.
Resistance fighters used the El Moudjahid newspaper to shed light on what was going on in their country, while also helping inspire its people to rise. We must never underestimate the power of our stories in creating liberation.